[geeman]

My apologies if this topic has been beaten to death (and yes, I did a search to no avail), but as I am a newbie, this is an important issue...

1. After a 335 is tuned, with say PROcede, how does one go about 'hiding' the evidence from the dealer when they are in for scheduled mainanence or other service?

2. And, if you were 'found out', what would the repercussions be?

[Ryan(e92)]

1. You can take it out when you go in for service.

2. Depends. If you go in for an oil change and some normal service then nothing would happen. If you take your car in because you have some type of turbo or engine failure then leaving the procede in your car could result in them voiding your powertrain warranty. Remember they have to prove that the procede is what caused whatever it is that fails/breaks etc in order to void your powertrain warranty. (increasing boost levels and whatnot is generally enough to do so)

My advice is to do what I did and find yourself a cool service tech (they give you one so you always talk to the same guy) Who will watch your back in a situation like that. Not everyone in the service department is a boyscout. So there are risks but if your not a stupid ass those risks are minimal.

[canucklion]

335i Tuning / 335i Manufacture Warranty

FI and warranty (exerpts from another poster)

[Fortbimmer]

Service and Warranty Information Manual, pg.31 last paragraph under This warranty does not apply to:

"Modification of the vehicle or installation of any performance accessories or components attached to the vehicle which alters the original engineering and/or operating specifications or which result in damage to the other original components, electrical interference, electrical short, radio static, water leaks and wind noise."

I'm not a lawyer, but that little sentence would probably give BMW the "legal" right to refuse any claim they wanted to a vehicle with any sort of mod.

How BMW chooses to enforce this clause is probably the real issue. Some of the time customer service is going to prevail and it won't be a big issue.

It's all about the amount of risk you are willing to take as the car owner.

[Jaws]

My advice would be to remove the Procede every time the car is brought in for service. It only takes one over zealous SA or tech to notice and document the mod and screw warranty coverage for you in the future.

Everyone quotes the Magneson-Moss act in that it must be proven that the modification was directly responsible for part failure. But, there is no way to force warranty coverage unless you a prepared to take legal action. Not worth the time, effort or money to do so. And even then, you may lose.